ON - Area groups share $574,000 in grants
Vincent Ball, Brantford Expositor, Friday, December 01, 2006 Updated @ 8:12:29 AM
A public-awareness campaign addressing domestic violence in Brantford is getting a $67,100 boost from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
The grant is part of more than $574,000 the Trillium foundation has awarded to agencies and organizations in Brantford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk.
"This is really quite exciting," Joy Freeman, the executive director of Nova Vita women’s shelter, said Thursday. "It’s the first time that there has been a formal acknowledgement that domestic violence is a community problem that requires a community solution."
The goal of the public awareness campaign is to improve community safety by providing people with the tools to speak out and take action against family violence.
The $67,100 grant was awarded to the Domestic Violence Awareness group, which is a sub-committee of the Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. The funding is being administered through Nova Vita.
Work on the campaign is expected to begin today. The first steps will include planning and developing materials for the initiative, Freeman said.
The Trillium Foundation money is in addition to the $5,000 in start-up funding the group received from the city earlier this year. Mayor’s task force
Mayor Mike Hancock established his task force following two domestic violence-related slayings that occurred earlier this year.
Fallon Mason, a 23-year-old mother of two, was found slain in her north Brantford townhouse in March. A former boyfriend has been charged with murder
Just four days later, eight-year-old Jared Osidacz was murdered by his father, Andrew, during an unsupervised access visit. Andrew Osidacz was subsequently shot and killed by police while he held Julie Craven, his former spouse and Jared’s mother, at knifepoint.
Following is a list of other agencies to receive Trillium funding:
- Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Brantford, $45,000 to replace an aging vehicle.
- Brantford Symphony Orchestra, $52,400 over two years to help with operating costs while implementing its sustainability plan.
- Canada’s First Forestry Station, St. Williams Interpretive Centre, $52,500 to increase opportunities for students in Norfolk County to experience hands-on learning.
- Community Builders, $48,300 to expand a youth leadership training program in six Brantford schools.
- Kids Can Fly, Early Child Development and Parenting Support, $42,200 to expand Roots of Empathy, an anti-bullying and character building program.
- Canadian Mental Health Association, Brant County branch, mental health awareness committee, $4,000 to facilitate a community-consultation/needs assessment on suicide prevention.
- Norfolk Youth and Children Association, $75,000 to purchase a portable wheelchair lift and increase the association’s capacity to deliver children and adult wellness programming in Norfolk.
- Operation Lift, $19,500 to purchase computer equipment to manage client data and booking systems.
- Port Dover Board of Trade, $25,000 to provide accessible recreational space for people of all abilities in a parkette on Port Dover’s main street.
- Sexual Assault Centre of Brant, $49,200 to build a support network for women aged 50 and over by recruiting and training same-age volunteers. New counselling and support programs will be offered to address a gap in services for women in this age group.
- Simcoe Rotary, Friendship Festival, Turkey Point Summerfest, $71,000 over two years to strengthen the economic health of Norfolk by enhancing the fundraising and volunteer management capacity of three local festivals.
- Spreading the Word Together, Literacy Link South Centre, $43,200 over 18 months to increase access to literacy programs for clients of employment and social service agencies in Haldimand, Norfolk, Brant and Brantford.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Ministry of Culture and receives $100 million annually from Ontario’s charity casino initiative.
© 2006, Osprey Media
Editorial Comment: Excuse me but why do social services, such as those provided regarding domestic violence, have to be directed through gambling revenues (ie. the Trillium Foundation). Maybe I am naive but why can’t taxes from corporations pay for these needed community social and arts services? Or the taxes that are paid to the federal government be directed to these provincial and municipal community services rather than creating a financial surplus for the federal government? Do tell, if you have a response? What has happened over and over again, is that when the gambling moola dries up for whatever reasons (for example, a smoking ban has a temporary negative impact on gambling revenues, these necessary community services suffer because their operating expenses are now dependent on gambling revenues).
